Emerald Hills practices self-defense, teaches about sexual assault

With the recent sexual assault report on Friday November 11 , the need for awareness of what to do in an assault situation and how these situations can be avoided has become more prominent for many people, including campus police.

RAs have to put on a majority of gatherings open to their specific housings residents as a requirement for the position and the personal safety session. ‘Defend Yourself,’ one of the events at Emerald Hills on Thursday, Nov. 17, is an example of how these can be helpful to all residents on campus that could get into a tough situation.

According to a Student Affairs brochure on Sexual Assault, one out of four girls and one out of six boys will experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 18.

“I think its important to have sessions like this available, and a self defense class like the one I teach as well, because people tend to think ‘This won’t happen to me’ and there’s always that chance it could,” Officer Charyl Ramsey said. “It’s possible that taking that class, even if it was just for a credit, or attending sessions like this could help anyone if they got put into those kinds of situations.”

The session involved residents of non-traditional students, children and any students who wished to attend the program. In the session, Officer Ramsey taught some basic self defense moves, such as the sweep kick and knee kick, to help teach the attendees methods to defend themselves in an assault situation.

Ramsey also explained the importance of using the Alert app for campus, and other methods for protecting yourself from an attacker. Pepper spray is not allowed on campus, but bug sprays and other sprays can be used for a similar defense, according to Ramsey.

With November being Sexual Assault Awareness month, blue ribbons, pens and other accessories were part of the session as well, to represent the awareness of preventing sexual assault on campus. There are self-defense classes available to students on campus, as well as small sessions like ‘Defend Yourself’ that can raise awareness even in the younger generation.